'Starving' cat

"-L." wrote in message
oups.com...

~~Tabbi~~ wrote:
Hello cat-fans! Got a story for you about a stray cat.


Great story! I suspect he was cared for by someone other than you,
sometime prior to showing up on your doorstep. Isn't it amazing how
animals will trust us, yet we cannot trust ourselves?


Yes, I think Spike was with a family when he was a kitten too - he certainly
wasn't feral - just temporaily misplaced. He knew all the house-cat things
: trying to trip me up while I got his food ready, doing the
'wet-cat/dry-cat' number on me (this is where they rub dry fur on a wet leg
after a shower, then rub the now wet fur on a dry leg, must be cat humour )
..

We have a large cat population around here, also a lot of activity in house
sales so some little furry people get left behind or come back home.

Spike is sulking at the moment because I trod on him. I really must get
that eye fitted to the back of my slipper..... ;-)


Tabbi

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...

snip

LOL! I wasn't sure about the name "Spike" for a cat... then I saw his
picture and think that name is a perfect fit! ;

Thank you for a great story, bless you for caring!

Hugs,

CatNipped

It took me a long time to 'feel' what his name would be - he was The Little
Man for a good few months.

Then 'Spike' popped into my head. But of course, he is not just Spike, he
is Spikey, The Spikester, Spikeage, and some names that are not very polite
at times ;-)

Tabbi

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome.

I am sorry to have caused tears (unless they were happy ones) with my story.

This is the second time I have adopted doorstep treasures.

I still have Dusty - she arrived with her sister, Muffin, one Saturday
morning in 1999. They were tiny, covered in fleas and ringworm, full of
cat-flu and worms. I already had 5 cats. I put the kittens in a basket
with some breakfast on Monday morning, to take them to Animal Welfare. They
hadn't been very friendly until that morning, when they both decided to come
in and say hello.

Anyway (sigh) we set off in the car, and I found I couldn't see the road
until I turned the car around and stopped crying. So we went home. 7 cats
..

We have 4 now.

Tabbi

"~~Tabbi~~" wrote in message
...

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...

snip

LOL! I wasn't sure about the name "Spike" for a cat... then I saw his
picture and think that name is a perfect fit! ;

Thank you for a great story, bless you for caring!

Hugs,

CatNipped

It took me a long time to 'feel' what his name would be - he was The
Little
Man for a good few months.

Then 'Spike' popped into my head. But of course, he is not just Spike, he
is Spikey, The Spikester, Spikeage, and some names that are not very
polite
at times ;-)

Tabbi

LOL! Yeah, aren't they all. Bandit has always been "B*tch Cat From H*ll!",
Sammy is sometimes "Little Sh*t".

Hugs,

CatNipped

"Susan M" smawdsley remove @shaw.ca wrote in message
news:mPl1e.805037$6l.442616@pd7tw2no...
"~~Tabbi~~" wrote in message
...
Hello cat-fans! Got a story for you about a stray cat.

I'm glad that you found each other. I checked out his pictures and he
looks
like a Spike. He looks like he would appreciate a nice cosy house after
his
checkered past. He has similar colouring to my Chester, the brown tabby
on
white with the spots on his back.

(back view) http://community.webshots.com/photo/...63956903SAZjHq
(front view) http://community.webshots.com/photo/...63957006tPPjZj

Chester wears more eyeliner than Spike does but it also looks like Spike
has
the same kind of "dirty" chin too?

Lovely story!

Thanks :-)

Yes, Spike does have a "dirty" chin ... he has a pink top lip and a black
bottom lip and a grey chin - but the hair is mostly white. He is a
fastidious cleaner though. I get sick of the slurping and nibbling after
about 45 minutes ....

Tabbi

On Sat, 26 Mar 2005 12:16:41 +1030, "~~Tabbi~~"
yodeled:

Hello

I have sent a photo of Spike to alt.binaries.pictures.animals it is just
called 'Spike'. I see now it is quite a big file :-( sorry .

Tabbi


Oh, isn't he sweet!

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

"~~Tabbi~~" had some very interesting
things to say about 'Starving' cat:

Then 'Spike' popped into my head. But of course, he is not just Spike, he
is Spikey, The Spikester, Spikeage, and some names that are not very polite
at times ;-)

Felix has alternate names too, including the ones that can't be used
in polite company (such as when he wakes Meowmie with a loud,
splattery barf near her head).

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL

CatNipped wrote:

LOL! Yeah, aren't they all. Bandit has always been "B*tch Cat From H*ll!",
Sammy is sometimes "Little Sh*t".

Speaking of using that as a name for a cat, it was Sumo's moniker when
he was in his terrible twos.

Lynda's dearest friend, Marianne asked why she called him that. Lynda
replied that Marianne should just keep an eye on him. Shortly, Sumo
jumped up on a table, grabbed a gold chain that was lying there, and
started to take off with it. Marianne ran after him, calling, "Give
me that!"

Sumo obligingly dropped the chain, but as Marianne went to pick it up,
Sumo grabbed it again and bolted out of reach. Marianne's comment was
(naturally), "Ooh! You little s**t!"

Regards and Purrs,
O J

Absolutely lovely story, Tabbi! Thanks for posting!
Christine and Omar, Oreo, Midnight, Robin & Tucker
"~~Tabbi~~" wrote in message
...
Hello cat-fans! Got a story for you about a stray cat.

There was a grey tabby/white cat who would sneak in our cat-door after we
went to bed to eat the left over cat food and munch on the cat biscuits.
I
would try and sneak back and catch a glimpse of him but he would always
get
away before I got to the kitchen. This started middle of last year I
reckon.

I knew who it was because on the weekend nights when we would stay up
later
there would sometimes be a worried face peering around the door as if to
say
'Hey! Go to bed, will you? I'm hungry!' The first glimpses I got were of
a
young cat's face. Later, as he got a bit braver, he would be waiting on
the
back door mat for us to go to bed. So, being the sucker-for-a-furry-face
that I am, I started putting out the leftovers earlier. I'd open the
door,
he would run off a short way, then come back after I went back inside.

He was maturing, his face was wider, and I could see (ahem) that he was a
boy-cat as he ran away the few steps.

One night he didn't come for his meal - the next night an awful sight
awaited me. One side of his poor little face was hugely distended from a
massive abscess, his eyes were gooey with cat flu. I put down his food,
tears in my eyes. He still ran away but came back and ate every scrap. I
was encouraged by this (I was also getting meals ready for him, not just
scraps). Two nights later he looked much better, the fur on his face was
sticky from the burst abscess but he looked a lot brighter.

My normal tribe of cats (Bagster, Sally and Dusty) just accepted him. I
was
a bit concerned about his flu, but my guys are all young and vaccinated
and
there was no way I was going to ignore The Little Man as I called him.

He started to put on weight, his coat became glossier, I snuck some worm
tablets into his food which he ate with no problem.

In December a break-through! I touched him on the head while he ate !
Things evolved rapidly after that, he would rub his face on my hand and
wind
himself around my legs. Then he started to yell outside the door for his
dinner. He would generally eat and run - never see him during the day at
all.

One morning - there he was, asking for breakfast!

Then we had the night he came in while we were still up, strolled over to
eat, then he left.

A few days later, he ate, then walked over to the carpet, sat down and had
a
wash.

Finally, one Sunday morning, he had his breakfast then came into the
computer room, jumped on my lap and curled up.

He has been de-fleaed, de-sexed, had his claws trimmed, been
micro-chipped,
vaccinnated and his name is Spike. He sleeps on our bed, eats like a
horse,
he is a real softy unless he wants to play - then he can get a bit rough.

He has been pestering me while I have been typing this, he stuck his claws
in my leg twice - he still claims to be a starving cat! He weighs 6.5
kilograms - hardly emaciated. The vet has advised me to trim him down a
bit, but Spike is not co-operating.

Trouble is, now he is fussy with his food I have no one to clean up the
left
overs :-)

Have a fun and furry day with your little treasures, everyone !


Tabbi

What a wonderful story. Bless you both.

Debbie


~~Tabbi~~ wrote:

Hello cat-fans! Got a story for you about a stray cat.

There was a grey tabby/white cat who would sneak in our cat-door after we
went to bed to eat the left over cat food and munch on the cat biscuits. I
would try and sneak back and catch a glimpse of him but he would always get
away before I got to the kitchen. This started middle of last year I
reckon.

I knew who it was because on the weekend nights when we would stay up later
there would sometimes be a worried face peering around the door as if to say
'Hey! Go to bed, will you? I'm hungry!' The first glimpses I got were of a
young cat's face. Later, as he got a bit braver, he would be waiting on the
back door mat for us to go to bed. So, being the sucker-for-a-furry-face
that I am, I started putting out the leftovers earlier. I'd open the door,
he would run off a short way, then come back after I went back inside.

He was maturing, his face was wider, and I could see (ahem) that he was a
boy-cat as he ran away the few steps.

One night he didn't come for his meal - the next night an awful sight
awaited me. One side of his poor little face was hugely distended from a
massive abscess, his eyes were gooey with cat flu. I put down his food,
tears in my eyes. He still ran away but came back and ate every scrap. I
was encouraged by this (I was also getting meals ready for him, not just
scraps). Two nights later he looked much better, the fur on his face was
sticky from the burst abscess but he looked a lot brighter.

My normal tribe of cats (Bagster, Sally and Dusty) just accepted him. I was
a bit concerned about his flu, but my guys are all young and vaccinated and
there was no way I was going to ignore The Little Man as I called him.

He started to put on weight, his coat became glossier, I snuck some worm
tablets into his food which he ate with no problem.

In December a break-through! I touched him on the head while he ate !
Things evolved rapidly after that, he would rub his face on my hand and wind
himself around my legs. Then he started to yell outside the door for his
dinner. He would generally eat and run - never see him during the day at
all.

One morning - there he was, asking for breakfast!

Then we had the night he came in while we were still up, strolled over to
eat, then he left.

A few days later, he ate, then walked over to the carpet, sat down and had a
wash.

Finally, one Sunday morning, he had his breakfast then came into the
computer room, jumped on my lap and curled up.

He has been de-fleaed, de-sexed, had his claws trimmed, been micro-chipped,
vaccinnated and his name is Spike. He sleeps on our bed, eats like a horse,
he is a real softy unless he wants to play - then he can get a bit rough.

He has been pestering me while I have been typing this, he stuck his claws
in my leg twice - he still claims to be a starving cat! He weighs 6.5
kilograms - hardly emaciated. The vet has advised me to trim him down a
bit, but Spike is not co-operating.

Trouble is, now he is fussy with his food I have no one to clean up the left
overs :-)

Have a fun and furry day with your little treasures, everyone !

Tabbi